Supermartensitic 13% Cr (and up to 17 Cr) stainless steels with low carbon content find increased applications in the oil and gas industry, especially for flowlines and the processing of mildly sour gas. The interest in this type of material is still growing and therefore steel manufacturers have put a lot of effort in the further development of martensitic stainless steels with low carbon and nitrogen content and small amounts of nickel, molybdenum and copper.
This new family of stainless steels is called "supermartensitic stainless steels", "weldable martensitic stainless steels" or "super 13 Cr steels". The supermartensitic grades combine high strength and low-temperature toughness with acceptable corrosion resistance in many applications. Apart from the oil and gas industry other industries such as power generation, chemical process plants, food production and the transportation industry have recognised the benefits of these grade opening up potential fields of application.
A driving force behind this interest is that supermartensitic stainless steels can offer an economical choice of materials between carbon steels and duplex stainless steels. Packages of components, including plates, pipes, fittings, flanges, welding consumables etcetera have now become available, which is a pre-requisite for successful application in upcoming projects worldwide.
This special interest box will help you solve problems by exploiting the advantages of supermartensitic stainless steels. You will find data from research work and service experiences related to field experience. Special attention will be paid to welding and fabrication, grades and oil & gas.
Any feedback will be highly appreciated. Please send your comments or input to the Stainless Steel World Supermartensitic Team at supermartensitic@kci-world.com.
A good overview on the development of supermartensitic stainless steels covering various aspects was presented at the Supermartensitic Stainless Steels Conference October 2002 in Brussels. This paper addresses the main achievements as well as some issues that require further development work. You can download the paper "Past, Present and future of weldable supermartensitic alloys" by Hans van der Winden (Fairwind Materials), Patrick Toussaint (Industeel Belgium) and Lionel Coudreuse (C.R.M.C.) free of charge. Go to our Further Information page, fill out the fields and you will get access to a page where you can download the paper.
Hans van der Winden
Fairwind Materials
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